Ethylene trimerisation and catalysts therefor

Abstract: Ethylene is trimerized to form 1-hexene by using a catalyst comprising an aluminoxane and polydentate phosphine, arsine, and/or stibine coordination complex of a chromium salt. These catalysts form a second aspect of the invention.

Description: This invention relates generally to the oligomerization of ethylene and more specifically to the preparation of 1-hexene by the trimerization of ethylene using a catalyst which includes an aluminoxane and a chromium complex containing a coordinating polydentate phosphine, stibine or arsine ligand, such as a tridentate phosphine complex of a chromium salt. Published European patent application, publication number 0,537,609, discloses an ethylene oligomerization/ trimerization process which uses a catalyst comprising a chromium complex which contains a coordinating polydentate ligand and an aluminoxane to produce high quality α-olefins which are enriched in 1-hexene. Suitable ligands include cyclic polyamines, and polypyrazolyl borates. US-P-4,777,315 describes a process for the trimerization of an olefin selected from the group consisting of ethylene, propylene, 1-butene and mixtures thereof, comprising passing the olefin and carbon dioxide in contact with a catalyst comprising the reaction product of (i) a chromium compound and (ii) a hydrocarbyl aluminium hydrolyzed with about 0.7 to about 1.1 moles of water per mole of aluminium compound. EP-A-0 237 079 relates to a process for trimerization of an olefin comprising passing the olefin in contact with a catalyst comprising the reaction product of (i) a chromium compound, (ii) a hydrocarbyl aluminium hydrolyzed with 0.8 to 1.1 moles of water per mole of aluminium compound and (iii) a donor ligand selected from hydrocarbyl isonitriles, amines and ethers. Briggs et al. describe in J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Comm. 11 (1989), 674-675 a homogeneous three component catalyst of chromium, hydrolysed alkylaluminium and dimethoxyethane for use in the trimerization of ethylene to hexene-1 in 74 % selectivity at a rate of 1.2 mol (mol Cr) -1 s -1 . Manyik et al. illustrate in J. Catal. 47(2 ) (1977), 197-209 a soluble chromium based catalyst for ethylene trimerization and polymerization, which catalyst is formed by the interaction of chromium (III) 2-ethylhexanoate with partially hydrolyzed triisobutylaluminium. I have now found that certain polydentate ligand complexes of chromium salts in combination with aluminoxanes can catalyze ethylene oligomerization, and especially ethylene trimerization to form 1-hexene, with a very high degree of selectivity, e.g. about 95%. In accordance with this invention there is provided a process for the trimerization of ethylene which process comprises reacting ethylene using a catalyst which is as defined in claim 1. Also provided is an ethylene trimerization catalyst composition comprising an (a) an aluminoxane, and (b) a polydentate phosphine, arsine and/or stibine coordination complex of a chromium salt, wherein said coordination complex has the formula LCrX n , wherein L is a coordinating polydentate phosphine, arsine and/or stibine ligand, X represents anions which can be the same or different and n is an integer from 2 to 4. Aluminoxanes for use in the process of the invention can be prepared as known in the art by reacting water or water containing materials with trialkylaluminum compounds in proportions of from 0.5 to 1.2 equivalents of water and, preferably, 0.8 to 1.0 equivalents of water per equivalent of trialkylaluminum. For example, Manyik et al U.S. 3,300,458 prepare alkylaluminoxane by passing a hydrocarbon solvent through water to form a wet hydrocarbon solvent and mixing the wet hydrocarbon solvent with an alkyl aluminum/ hydrocarbon solvent mixture in a conduit. Schoenthal et al. U.S. 4,730,071 show the preparation of methylaluminoxane by dispersing water in toluene using an ultrasonic bath and then adding a toluene solution of trimethyl aluminum to the dispersion. Schoenthal et al U.S. 4,730,072 is similar except it uses a high speed, high shear-inducing impeller to form the water dispersion. Edward et al. U.S. 4,772,736 describe an aluminoxane process in which water is introduced below the surface of a solution of hydrocarbyl aluminum adjacent to a stirrer which serves to immediately disperse the water in the hydrocarbon solution. The preparation of alkyl aluminoxanes from R 2 AlOLi formed by reacting AlR 3 and anhydrous lithium hydroxide, and R 2 AlCl has been reported in the literature, for example, Ueyama et al., Inorganic Chemistry, 12 , No. 10, 2218 (1973) and Aoyazi et al., Inorganic chemistry, 12 , No. 11, 2702 (1973). Sinn et al. U.S. 4,404,344 prepare methylaluminoxane by adding trimethyl aluminum to a slurry of CuSO 4 •5H 2 O in toluene. Introducing water as a metal hydrate controls its reactivity with the trimethyl aluminum. Kaminsky et al. U.S. 4,544,762 is similar except it uses an aluminum sulfate salt hydrate to supply the water. Likewise, Welborn et al. U.S. 4,665,208 describe the use of other metal salt hydrates such as FeSO 4 •7H 2 O as a water source in preparing aluminoxane. Hydrocarbylaluminoxanes may exist in the form of linear or cyclic polymers with the simplest compounds being a tetraalkylaluminoxane such as tetraethylaluminoxane, (C 2 H 5 ) 2 AlOAl(C 2 H 5 ) 2 . Preferred aluminoxanes are prepared from trialkyl aluminum compounds such as triethyl aluminum, tri-n-butyl aluminum, triisobutyl aluminum, tri-n-hexyl aluminum, and tri-octyl aluminum. Of these, the more preferred are the compounds having C 6 or higher alkyl groups which have better solubility in the hydrocarbon solvent reaction medium. The aluminoxanes used to form the catalyst are preferably contained in organic solvents in concentrations of from 0.3 to 30 weight percent of total solvent plus aluminoxane. A trialkylaluminum compound can also be included in the catalyst (0.1 to 1.0 mole per mole of aluminoxane). The chromium complexes which, upon mixing with an aluminoxane, catalyze ethylene oligomerization and especially trimerization in accordance with the process of the invention are represented by the formula: LCrX n , wherein L is a coordinating polydentate phosphine, arsine and/or stibine ligand and X represents anions which can be the same or different and n is an integer of 2 to 4. Such complexes can be in the form of oligomers, i.e. (LCrX n ) y where y is 2 to 8. By "polydentate" is meant that the ligand contains multiple donor atoms for coordination with chromium. Preferred polydentate ligands include the following types: (a) RY(R'ZR 2 ") 2 wherein R and R" are hydrogen or C 1 to C 20 hydrocarbyl; R' is C 1 to C 10 hydrocarbyl; and Y and Z are individually phosphorus, arsenic or antimony; (b) CH 3 E(R'ZR 2 ") 3 wherein E is C,Si, Ge or Sn and R', R" and Z are as defined in (a) above; (c) E'(R'ZR 2 '') 3 wherein E' is nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic or antimony and R', R'' and Z are as defined in (a) above; and (d) A-ZR-B wherein A is an integer of 9 to 18, B is an integer of 3 to 6, R is a C 1 to C 10 alkyl group such as a methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl or higher alkyl group or a C 6 to C 20 aromatic group such as benzyl and Z is phosphorous, arsenic or antimony. The abbreviations, such as 9-PR-3, 10-PR-3, 12-PR-4 and the like, used for the phosphine ligands correspond to those used for crown ethers because they are their phosphorus analogues. For example, 9-PR-3 denotes a nine membered ring with 3 phosphorus atoms. The most preferred coordinating polydentate ligands of this type are facially coordinating tridentate ligands such as 9-PMe-3. In the ligands of types (a), (b) and (c) each (R'ZR") moiety can be different so as to provide a mixture of donors in the same complex. The ligands of types (a), (b), (c), and (d) can be modified to attach to a polyethylene chain (m wt. = 1000 or higher) so that the resulting catalyst is homogeneous at elevated temperature but becomes heterogeneous at 25°C. This technique facilitates the recovery of the catalyst from the reaction products for reuse and has been used with other catalysts as described, for example, by D. E. Bergbreiter et al., J. Chem. Soc. , Chem. Commun. , 337-338 (1985); J. Org. Chem. (1986) 51 , 4752-4760; and J.A.C.S. (1987), 109 , 177-179. Non-limiting examples of specific tridentate phosphine ligands include: for type (a), EtP(C 2 H 4 PEt 2 ) 2 , whose chemical name is bis-(2-diethylphosphinoethyl)ethylphosphine; for type (b), CH 3 C(CH 2 PEt 2 ) 2 , whose chemical name is 1,1,1-tris(diethylphosphinomethyl)ethane; for type (c), P(C 2 H 4 PEt 2 ) 3 , whose chemical name is tris(2-diethylphosphinoethyl)phosphine; and for type (d), 9-PMe-3, whose chemical name is 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triphosphino-cyclononane. Other specific examples are: CH 3 C(CH 2 PPh 2 ) 3 PhP(CH 2 CH 2 PPh 2 ) 2 CyP(CH 2 CH 2 PCy 2 ) 2 CyP(CH 2 CH 2 PEt 2 ) 2 n-PrP(CH 2 CH 2 PEt 2 ) 2 EtP(C 3 H 6 PEt 2 ) 2 N(C 2 H 4 PEt) 3 PhP(o-C 6 H 4 PEt 2 ) 2 wherein Ph = phenyl, Cy = cyclohexyl, Me = methyl, Et = ethyl and Pr = propyl. The arsine and stibine analogues of these ligands could also be prepared, for example: PhAs(o-C 6 H 4 AsPh 2 ) 2 MeAs(o-C 6 H 4 AsMe 2 ) 2 MeSb(C 2 H 4 SbMe 2 ) 2 MeAs(C 3 H 6 AsMe 2 ) 2 By a coordinating polydentate ligand is meant a ligand that sterically encumbers the chromium atom in such a way that the rate of chain propagation is decreased so that oligomeriza-tion, especially trimerization, rather than polymerization occurs. For example, ligands which occupy three adjacent coordination sites about an octahedral chromium atom. Examples of suitable anions, X, include, but are not limited to, halides (Cl - , Br - , I - , F - ), alkoxides (OR - ), carboxylates (O 2 CR - ), and Oxo(O -2 ). These anions are initially the anion portion of the chromium compounds used to make the complex. The chromium in the compounds is initially in the oxidation state of II to VI and is preferably in the oxidation state of II, III or IV. The chromium complexes can be prepared according to procedures set forth in the literature. For example L. R. Gray et al., J. Chem. Soc. Dalton. Trans. (1984), 47-53 and A. M. Arif et al. Inorg. Chem. , Vol. 25, No. 8, 1986, 1080 - 1084. The chromium complex and aluminoxane are combined in proportions to provide Al/Cr molar ratios of from 1:1 to 10,000 to 1 and, preferably, from 5:1 to 500 to 1. The amount of catalyst used is selected to provide the desired reaction rates at any particular reaction scale. (The presence of amounts of 0.001 mmole or more and preferably from 0.1 to 10 mmoles of chromium catalyst in a 300 ml reactor are effective to catalyze the reaction.) Catalyst mixing is preferably done at low temperatures of 0 to 35°C. The presence of ethylene during catalyst mixing at these temperatures resulted in no significant difference in catalyst properties when compared with catalysts prepared in the absence of ethylene. Ethylene provided a protective effect at temperatures above 55°C. The reaction with ethylene is carried out in an inert solvent. Any inert solvent which does not react with aluminoxane can be used. The preferred solvents are aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and halogenated hydrocarbons such as, for example, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, cumene, mesitylene, heptane, cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, 1-hexene, 1-octene, chlorobenzene, and dichlorobenzene. The amount of solvent is not particularly critical and generally ranges from 50 to 99 wt. percent of the initial reaction mixture. Reaction temperatures and pressures are chosen to optimize reaction rates and selectivity. In general temperatures of from 35 to 200°C are used and preferably 80 to 120°C. Ethylene pressures can range from atmospheric to (3000 psig) 20,786 kPa and preferably from (100 to 1500 psig) 791-10,444 kPa). Temperature and pressure affect reaction rate and purity in the following way: both higher temperature and higher ethylene pressure increase reaction rate; higher ethylene pressures give better purity by forming less internal olefins, whereas higher temperatures increase the formation of internal olefins. The invention is further illustrated by, but is not intended to be limited to, the following examples. Example 1 - Preparation of Triphosphine Chromium Trichloride Preparation of n-PrP(CH=CH 2 ) 2 To a 1.0 M solution of vinylMgBr (70 mmol) in THF at 0°C was added a solution of n-PrPCl 2 (3.75 g, 25.9 mmol) in 35 ml THF over 1 hour. The solution was allowed to warm slowly and stirred overnight. To the resulting suspension was added degassed saturated NH 4 Cl solution (50 ml) slowly to kill the unreacted vinylMgBr. The organic phase was separated from the aqueous phase using a cannula. The remaining aqueous phase was washed with two 40-ml portions of Et 2 O, which were then combined with the organic phase, dried over sodium carbonate and distilled at ambient pressure under inert atmosphere to give 2.0 g (60% yield) of n-PrP(C 2 H 3 ) 2 (b.p. = 143°C). Preparation of n-PrP(C 2 H 4 PEt 2 ) 2 A mixture of n-PrP(CH=CH 2 ) 2 (1.29 g, 10.0 mmol), Et 2 PH (2.25 g, 25.0 mmol) and 2,2'-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN, 30 mg) in a closed flask under inert atmosphere was irradiated by a GE Sunlamp (275 W) one foot away for 24 hours. The resulting colorless liquid was stripped of volatiles under vacuum and vacuum distilled to give 3.1 g (97% yield) of product collected at 132-135°C/0.35 mmHg (46.7 Pa). 31 P-NMR (toluene): δ - 18.5 (2P); δ - 22.8 (1P). Preparation of [n-PrP(C 2 H 4 PEt 2 ) 2 ]CrCl 3 A mixture of n-PrP(C 2 H 4 PEt 2 ) 2 (2.30 g, 7.46 mmol) and anhydrous CrCl 3 (0.40 g, 2.50 mmol) in a closed flask under vacuum was heated with stirring at 135 °C for 1 hour. The reaction mixture at this stage contained four compounds: excess ligand (heptane-soluble), purple LCrCl 3 (toluene-soluble), blue LCrCl 3 (CH 2 Cl 2 -soluble), and unreacted CrCl 3 . Separation was achieved by solubility difference. The resulting blue cake was extracted with 20 ml of toluene, filtered, and washed with toluene until colorless. Toluene was removed from the combined purple filtrate, the residue was extracted with heptane, filtered to give a purple solid and unreacted ligand in heptane. The insoluble materials were a mixture of a blue solid and unreacted CrCl 3 . Separation was achieved by extraction with CH 2 Cl 2 . Unreacted CrCl 3 (0.05 g) was recovered. Results: blue solid; 0.65 g, purple solid; 0.35 g. The combined yield was quantitative based on reacted CrCl 3 . The blue and purple solids are both active in the ethylene trimerization reaction. Anal. for the blue compound, Calcd: P, 19.91; Cl, 22.79; Cr, 11.14; C, 38.60; H, 7.56. Found P, 19.77; Cl, 23.14; Cr, 11.46; C, 38.20; H 7.65. The following diagram shows the structure of the product: Another ligand-chromium complex, [CyP(C 2 H 4 PEt 2 ) 2 ]CrCl 3 , where Cy is cyclohexyl, was prepared analogously. Example 2 - Ethylene Trimerization Reaction The reaction was carried out in a 300 ml Parr stainless-steel reactor to which a liquid addition bomb was connected for the purpose of adding the aluminoxane solution under ethylene pressure. To the reactor containing a solution of [n-PrP(C 2 H 4 PEt 2 ) 2 ]CrCl 3 (45 mg, 0.096 mmol) and pentadecane (0.267 g, as internal reference for gas chromatography) in 90 ml of toluene at 25°C under (250 psig) 1825 kPa of ethylene pressure was added a solution of n-hexylaluminoxane (5.0 mmol) in 10 ml of toluene using ethylene gas which brought the pressure to (300 psig) 2197 kPa . The chain-growth reaction was then carried out with continuous ethylene feed at 95°C 4302 kPa (610 psig) for one hour (stirring rate: 800 RPM), during which time 22 g of ethylene was consumed. The reaction was terminated by pressing methanol into the reactor to deactivate the catalyst. The reactor was cooled to 10°C, vented, and a sample was withdrawn for GC analysis which showed the following results: C 4 : 4.3%, C 6 : 94.3%, C 8 : 0.2%, C 10 : 0.9%. The purity of 1-hexene was 92.6% with major impurities being internal hexenes. The weights of the carbon fractions were calculated using measured response factors and mimic experiments to simulate the operational loss of light olefins. Results of this and other Examples 3-8 with varied reaction conditions are summarized in Table I.

Claims: A process for the trimerization of ethylene, comprising oligomerizing ethylene in the presence of an ethylene trimerization catalyst composition comprising (a) an aluminoxane, and (b) a polydentate phosphine, arsine and/or stibine coordination complex of a chromium salt, so as to selectively from 1-hexene without substantial formation of polyethylene, wherein said coordination complex has the formula LCrX n , wherein L is a coordinating polydentate phosphine, arsine and/or stibine ligand, X represents anions which can be the same or different and n is an integer from 2 to 4. The process according to Claim 1, wherein the polydentate ligand in the coordination complex has the formula: RY(R'ZR 2 ") 2 wherein R' and R" are hydrogen or C 1 to about C 20 hydrocarbyl; R' is C 1 to about C 10 hydrocarbyl; and Y and Z are individually phosphorus, arsenic or antimony. The process according to Claim 1, wherein the polydentate ligand in the coordination complex has the formula: CH 3 E(R'ZR 2 ") 3 wherein E is C, Si, Ge or Sn; R 1 is C 1 to about C 20 hydrocarbyl; each R" is individually hydrogen or C 1 to about C 10 hydrocarbyl, and each Z is individually phosphorus, arsenic or antimony. The process according to Claim 1, wherein the polydentate ligand in the coordination complex has the formula: E'(R'ZR 2 ") 3 wherein E' is nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic or antimony; R' is C 1 to about C 20 hydrocarbyl; each R" is individually hydrogen or C 1 to about C 10 hydrocarbyl and each Z is individually phosphorus, arsenic or antimony. The process according to Claim 1, wherein the polydentate ligand in the coordination complex has the formula: A-ZR-B wherein A is an integer of 9 to 19, B is an integer of 3 to 6, R is a C 1 to C 10 alkyl or a C 6 to C 20 aryl group, and Z is phosphorus, arsenic or antimony. The ethylene trimerization catalyst composition comprising (a) an aluminoxane, and (b) a polydentate phosphine, arsine and/or stibine coordination complex of a chromium salt, wherein said coordination complex has the formula LCrX n , wherein L is a coordinating polydentate phosphine, arsine and/or stibine ligand, X represents anions which can be the same or different and n is an integer from 2 to 4. The ethylene trimerization catalyst composition wherein the polydentate ligand in the coordination complex has the formula: RY(R'ZR 2 ") 2 wherein R' and R'' are hydrogen or C 1 to about C 20 hydrocarbyl; R' is C 1 to about C 10 hydrocarbyl: and Y and Z are individually phosphorus, arsenic or antimony of Claim 6. The ethylene trimerization catalyst composition of Claim 7, wherein the polydentate ligand in the coordination complex has the formula: CH 3 E(R'ZR 2 ") 3 wherein E is C, Si, Ge or Sn; R 1 is C 1 to about C 20 hydrocarbyl; each R" is individually hydrogen or C 1 to about C 10 hydrocarbyl, and each Z is individually phosphorus, arsenic or antimony. The ethylene trimerization catalyst composition of Claim 8, wherein the polydentate ligand in the coordination complex has the formula: E'(R'ZR 2 ") 3 wherein E' is nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic or antimony; R' is C 1 to about C 20 hydrocarbyl; each R" is individually hydrogen or C 1 to about C 10 hydrocarbyl, and each Z is individually phosphorus, arsenic or antimony. The ethylene trimerization catalyst composition of Claim 9, wherein the polydentate ligand in the coordination complex has the formula: A-ZR-B wherein A is an integer of 9 to 19, B is an integer of 3 to 6, R is a C 1 to C 10 alkyl or a C 6 to C 20 aryl group, and Z is phosphorus, arsenic or antimony.

Inventors: WU FENG-JUNG, WU, FENG-JUNG
Applicants: AMOCO CORP, AMOCO CORPORATION
Application year: 1994
Main classification: C07C2
IPC codes: C07C11, B01J31, C07B61, C07C2, C07F9